


Not At All

by theotpeffect



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Demons, Family Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Parents Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-10 12:41:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6956842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theotpeffect/pseuds/theotpeffect
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood have created a life for themselves, a family for themselves. They are epitome of happiness. Until a Greater Demon rips it all away from them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not At All

                Taylor Swift had been playing a song mere seconds before. Alec was not a huge fan of her music but he could appreciate when his husband belted out lyrics with her, or danced in their kitchen and effectively embarrassed their children. What he could not appreciate was Frank Sinatra taking her place on Magnus’ extremely diverse playlist. Magnus danced even more to him. The key difference here was he always insisted on making Alec dance with him.

                “Come on, darling just one dance,” Magnus said. He tugged on Alec’s hand once, pulling him from his place on the couch.

                “I don’t know why you always insist on dancing together,” Alec said. He placed his hands on Magnus’ hips.

                Magnus poked his tongue out. “You’re right, your dance moves are certainly not the same in your old age.”

                “Don’t even talk to me about being old, Magnus,” Alec said with a grin. “Do I need to remind you of your own age.”

                Magnus groaned. “Please, do not. Having children has made that number seem even more absurd.”

                Alec hummed and swayed with Magnus in their living room. They circled around their small coffee table, smiling at each other. Alec laughed when Magnus began to sway them a little more playfully, throwing their arms out and bouncing just a bit with his every step.

                “You make me feel so young,” Magnus sang as the song came to a close.

                Alec nuzzled his nose against Magnus’. He closed his eyes and pressed himself close enough to Magnus to impair any more of their dancing, leaving them to sway next to their couch as the song track switched to something neither of them could be bothered to listen to.

                Magnus slid his hands over Alec’s shoulders, his neck, up his cheeks and stared at his eyes, his lips, back to his eyes. Alec’s thumb made tiny circles against Magnus’ hips as he stared back without so much as a blink.

                “I love you,” Magnus whispered. Then he closed his eyes and kissed Alec softly.

                Alec sighed in content and tilted his head, welcoming Magnus’ lips against his. Once they separated, Alec tilted his head up to give Magnus two more quick pecks.

                “I love you,” Alec said against his lips. He pressed his face against Magnus’ neck, where his smile could be felt.

                A few more minutes of content silence took over their home; that is before the front door slammed open hard enough for Magnus to worry about the sanctity of his walls. They separated as their youngest boy, Max, came charging into the room with his arms full of groceries. He froze as he saw his parents pull away from each other, the open floor plan to their home doing nothing to hide their reluctantly ended intimate moment.

                “Yuck,” Max finally said as Rafeal, their eldest but secondly adopted, came in. “You weren’t kissing were you?”

                “Gross,” Rafe added, as he dumped his bags onto the kitchen counters.

                Magnus sighed. “You won’t allow your fathers one moment of romance, will you?”

                “We know how you feel,” Izzy said as she breezed into the room, holding a single pie. Simon was trailing behind her with the remainder of the bags.

                “They totally made fun of us for holding hands,” Simon said. “You’re raising cruel monsters.”

                Rafe and Max giggled as they began removing all of the groceries from the bags and laying them out for Izzy to mangle into their dinner.

                “Boys, you didn’t allow Aunt Izzy to buy any poisons, right?” Alec asked. Izzy punched him in the arm.

                “I’ll have you know my cooking is getting much better.”

                “I can confirm,” Simon said. “The taste doesn’t make you want to die anymore.”

                Izzy made no hesitation to swat at him as well.

                Once, the shopping bags were unloaded, their entire family got down to cooking. Izzy maneuvered her way around the kitchen as if it were her own. Simon watched her with awe. Magnus and Rafe prepared everything for Izzy to cook. Alec had to remind Max multiple times not to use magic in the house, only for the most effective reminder to be a cracked egg on Max’s head. Rafeal laughed at him, but still was the first one to begin picking the yolk from his brother’s hair. The sounds laughter, sizzling pans, and the aroma of their dinner curled pleasantly around the Lightwood-Bane home.

                Max was sent to the bathroom to wash off the egg. Once he came back, their dinner was ready to be eaten. Rafe, Max and Simon set up the table quickly, while the everyone else in the family placed the food on serving dishes and added any finishing touches to their meal.

                Before long, pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs and a healthy mountain of bacon were set on the table. Not a single plate was seen without a great mound of food sitting atop it.

                Max had just taken his first bite when Izzy cleared her throat.

                “We have an announcement to make,” Izzy said. Her grip was tight on Simon’s, but her face was glowing a healthy red, and her smile was as large as Alec had ever seen it. Izzy took in a deep breath. “I’m _pregnant._ ”

                Max slammed his hands on the table as his parents gasped. Everyone broke into grins, which only grew wider at Max’s excited exclamation of, “I’m going to have another cousin!”

                Simon smiled at him. “That’s right, bud. But this time it’s from your _favorite_ aunt and uncle.”

                Max laughed and sat back down. Alec, however, stood up, ran to Izzy and pulled her from her chair. They embraced and they laughed and Alec even picked her up to swing her around once.

                “I’m happy for you, Iz,” Alec said before he finally released her.

                More hugs were exchanged and the entire dinner table was full of the largest smiles.

                “We also have something to say. I mean, not to step you up or anything,” Magnus said. Then he glanced to Rafe and gestured at him with a soft smile.

                Rafe blushed and looked at his plate, untouched after all the excitement. “The Silent Brothers said I would probably be able to get my first Mark next year.”

                Izzy and Simon were then the ones to jump from their seats. They adorned their nephew with praise and affection, hardly willing to let him go long enough for any of them to eat. Max already knew of his brother’s news but jumped into the group hug with excitement.

                Alec and Magnus held hands under the table, laughing softly.

                After a time, everyone calmed enough to get back to their seats and properly begin their meal. The food was just barely warm when they finally got to it, but it did nothing to damper their mood.

                “Izzy, this is much better than I thought it’d be,” Magnus said.

                Izzy narrowed her eyes. “How _did_ you think it’d be.”

                Magnus waved his hand. “Those are merely details, cupcake. Take the compliment.”

                Izzy opened her mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by a booming knock at the door. Not a moment later, the door swung open and revealed Jace. His golden hair, now more of a brown in its dampness, hung limply just past his chin, dotted with flakes of snow. He wasn’t wearing a jacket and shivered slightly as he closed the door behind him.

                “Jace, it’s _freezing_ ,” Alec said. “Where the heck is your jacket?”

                “Right, I had one at one point,” Jace strode further into the house and glanced at Rafe and Max with a small smile and wave. “But, there’s a bit of a, uh, _situation_ in an old abandoned church not far from here.”

                Alec stood and began making his way to his home’s basement. He nodded at Jace, who followed him to the stairs without a moment’s hesitation and waited until they were safely in front of the locked closet of weapons Alec kept downstairs. Magnus had been hesitant to put it there, as the children’s bedrooms were right across from it, but there was hardly another secure location for the weapons to be placed. Besides, Alec and Magnus were confident their children were responsible enough and smart enough not to go handling their father’s weapons without supervision.

                “It’s another damn mundane cult that’s been meddling with summoning demons,” Jace said. He sighed and helped Alec gather arrows and put them neatly into his quiver. “They managed to get their hands on a Greater Demon.”

                Alec shook his head. “Are any of them still alive?”

                “No,” Jace said. “I think it broke from its binds instantly.”

                Alec nodded. He stripped himself from his everyday clothes and hurriedly put his armor on. Jace occasionally stopped him to help mark him on an open patch of his skin.

                Before long, they were ready to leave. Alec had lent more weapons to Jace, and double checked to make sure they had everything they needed and that Jace was properly armored and marked.

                “Sorry to ruin your dinner, brother,” Jace said as they emerged into the dining room once more.

                Alec shrugged. “It happens. We can continue once we get back?”

                Izzy and Simon smiled. “Yeah,” said Simon. “Fine by me.”

                “Iz, you coming?” Jace asked.

                Izzy smiled and shook her head. “I think as a pregnant woman, that would be a horrible idea.”

                Jace’s eyes widened and his open mouth slowly resembled more of a smile after a few moments. “Seriously?”

                “Seriously,” Izzy said. Simon was gazing at her with all the affection of the world. Alec recognized it as the look he gave Magnus- the look Magnus gave him. All soft eyes and small smiles and relaxed muscles that radiated utter happiness and peace.

                _“I’ll_ come,” Magnus said. “Someone needs to make sure the two of you don’t do something irreparably stupid.”

                “Would it kill you to have a bit more faith?” Jace asked.

                “It’s possible,” Magnus sighed as he stood up. He turned to Simon and Izzy. “You two, watch over my children, and do try not to blow up the house.”

                Simon and Izzy saluted at nearly the same time, resulting in a small laugh from both of them.

                Alec and Magnus kissed their sons on their foreheads before heading off.

                “Bye, dad! Bye, papa!” Max yelled one final time.

                Magnus blew him a kiss, said, “We’ll see you soon, blueberry,” and shut the door behind him.

                “Where to?” Magnus asked. He moved to Alec’s free hand and twined their fingers together.

                “We’ll have to take a cab to Queens,” Jace said. At Alec’s sigh he said. “Hey, I thought your sons knowing you wouldn’t be that far off would be a _comfort_. It was a well-meaning lie.”

                “Now won’t they wonder where we are because we’re going to be gone a while?” Magnus said. Jace had nothing more to offer except spluttered and pitiful attempts at saving himself. Magnus sighed and texted Izzy to tell her where they were going. 

                Jace chatted along the way, mostly about Clary and their own child, which led to a discussion of Magnus’ and Alec’s children. Even in the cab, they spoke exclusively of their children, until Jace held his hand up in the air. Alec immediately quieted himself and looked out the windows of the cab.

                “As much as I like talking about my daughter, we’re starting to dangerously sound like old men,” Jace said after an extended pause.

                Alec groaned. “Is that all? Jace, I thought there was real trouble.”

                “And there’s nothing wrong with being old,” Magnus added with a sniff.

                The cab came to a stop. It seemed to idle for just long enough for Jace to pay the driver before shooting off into the snow.

                “Yeah, well, with your constant complaining you could’ve fooled me,” Jace said with his sweetest smile.

                “Don’t disrespect your elders, Jace,” Magnus said. He opened his mouth to continue when a roar, that seemed to shake the church in front of them on its decrepit foundation, blasted their thoughts away.

                “Well,” Magnus muttered instead.

                Alec removed his hand from Magnus’ and knocked an arrow. The growling inside spurred his uneasiness; it spurred his adrenaline. Jace crept in front of them, whispering the name of his seraph blade. The blade extended and radiated its angelic brilliance for just a moment before dulling to a wan, pulsing light. The growling stopped, and Alec wondered if the demon inside had sensed the heavenly light, or smelled the blood of Shadowhunters and a warlock.

                Jace went towards the large, dark oak doors and crouched off to the side. Under the already dark night the cold winter night created, the doors looked black and ominous.

                “Alexander, I just remembered we needed to pick up more cereal on our way back,” Magnus whispered.

                Alec smiled and nodded. “Have they eaten it all already?”

                “Monsters, both of them,” Magnus said. Alec glanced at him to find him smiling softly.

                “We should buy new ornaments for the tree too,” Alec muttered. He aimed in the space between the doors as Jace reached out to push them open. Magnus gathered a ball of fire in the palm of his hand.

                Magnus hummed. “Maybe we can have Max and Rafe help us pick them out this year.”

                “You’ll have to remind me to put the tree up at some point too,” Alec said.

                Their conversation ended as Jace threw open the doors. He hastily rolled away and sprang upwards in less than a moment.

                All was silent as the three stood in front of the church, muscles tense and weapons at the ready.

                Then, as Alec dared to take one small step forward in search of any lurking shadows, another bellow came from the church and sent Alec reeling backwards.

                Magnus caught his arm and held him upright. They glanced at each other. They both wore a frown on their face. Magnus was shooting small bursts of sparks, and Alec’s arrow was pulled back and ready to fire.

Magnus and Alec fell into step behind Jace, who snuck into the darkness of the church. They could hardly see him- the pitch was so thick. Alec carefully stepped forward, watching Jace intently. Each movement he made deeper into the church made his heart pound against his chest.

                Magnus moved ahead of him, brushing his fingers against the hem of Alec’s shirt. He moved to the entrance of the church, staying low as Jace had done, before plunging in, leaving Alec alone outside.

                He attempted to steady his breathing. The strong connection he felt with Jace calmed him enough for him to relax as he inched forward. Sometimes he wished his specialized weapon was something that allowed him to stay close-range with his family.

                The church creaked when he entered. He could see nothing beyond the tip of his arrow. But the growling he could hear. The leather of his glove creaked as he tightened his grip on his bow. His eyes darted from side to side, looking for any trace of a witchstone or a burst of blue sparks. But there was nothing. Nothing at all.

 

\---

 

                Magnus could see nothing. The blue fire flickering from the palm of his hand was the only thing visible in the blackness that surrounded him. He could hear nothing. His breathing and the pounding of his heart was the only thing to be heard in this simulated vacuum of space. He hoped Alec could hear it beating for him.

                Magnus inched forward blindly. He felt the ground beneath him with the pad of his foot. His other hand burst with sparks that swirled in front of him every time he thought he’d heard a creak or seen a flickering shadow in his periphery. He didn’t dare call out for Jace or Alec.

                Then he heard it. The first thing that made a noise beyond himself. A growl, deep and guttural. Magnus jumped and tensed. He crouched lower, the sparks in his empty hand shooting erratically around him.

                Something to his left bumped into him. Without a moment’s thought he shot at the thing with a brilliant fire ball. It tore through it with a splintering noise. When his heart rate calmed he saw he had blown away a piece of wall. Outside, the grass not weighed down by debris or scorched to black swayed lazily. The moon was bright and white, casting its light into a small circle around Magnus.

                Magnus swirled around, hoping that the light he now had would reveal even more to him. Yet there remained nothing. It only created a scream as high pitched as a young child’s. Magnus covered his ears and hoped there were none to be found in this place. It sounded as if they could have been Max’s age if not younger.

                Fingers touched his shoulder from behind. But not a moment later a voice stopped him from blasting that away too. “Magnus,” Alec whispered.

                Magnus turned and spared a moment to look him over. His eyes were wide and his bow was drawn. He looked unharmed, however, and the arrows in his quiver seemed untouched.

                Jace wasn’t behind him.

                “Where should we look?” Magnus said.

                “Forward,” Alec said. “I haven’t been to the back.”

                Magnus touched his arm lightly for but a bare moment before trailing forward, keeping the hole to his left.

                He could feel Alec’s heat just behind him. He didn’t know just how cold it was until Alec was at his side. He could feel their arms brush occasionally, as close as they were to each other. When he glanced over his shoulder he could see Alec. The parts of his body closest to Magnus were highlighted in blue. He was as beautiful as ever.

                Magnus looked forward again. Another growl, and again silence.

                Alec sighed behind him. His arrow slid across the metal of his bow. Silence.

                Then Magnus felt a force besides him. A mighty push. He flew to the side, his flame flickering as he tried to stabilize himself midair. He landed on a crouch. His eyes frantically searched the area of Alec, but again there was nothing. Nothing.

                “Magnus!” Alec shouted.

                “I’m fine!” Magnus shouted back. There was no reply but a grunt and a thud. A moment later Magnus heard an arrow whiz through the air and lodge itself into wood. He still saw nothing but the infuriating blackness ahead of him. There was nothing to distinguish between the moments he blinked and when his eyes were open. His head began to ache.

                “Alec!” he shouted. He scrambled forward. Finally on his feet he sent the flames in his hand shooting skyward, spread them to the very edges of his fingertips and wrist. There was still nothing to be seen.

                He rushed forward. There was another arrow that zhinged through the air. It also hit wood. A shout and another arrow. Magnus shot a flame from his hand, aiming it upwards, just over Alec’s height. He shot again and again. One ball of flame collided with an arrow. The arrow had hit it diagonally. Magnus changed the direction he was walking.

                “Jace!” Alec exclaimed. There was some frantic shouting that was lost to Magnus’ ears as he flew through the air again. He growled and slammed his fist against the musty floor beneath him after he landed. He felt an ache on his side, but ignored it as he leaped upwards and again attempted to orient himself. His eyes darted back and forth, before finally resting on the hole he had created. It was far to his right.

                He turned, putting the light on his left once more, and plunged deeper into the darkness. He shot more flames, if only to detect another arrow, a head of golden hair, a pair of blue eyes.

                There was a moment when the darkness thickened impossibly. When he shot another flame, it stayed in his sight for a second before blinking out of existence. Then it all faded away, revealing more and more light with each passing second.

                The dark returned to normal. An unlit church suddenly seemed bright, and Magnus squinted as he searched for Alec and Jace. They were only a few feet from him. Alec spotted him a moment later and ran towards him.

                “Are you hurt?” he said frantically. He moved his bow and arrow to one hand so he could feel Magnus. He ran his hand over his arm and side and face.

                “What about you?” Magnus asked. He stopped Alec’s hand and smiled.

                Alec sighed and held his bow with two hands again. “I’m fine. We’re good.”

                Jace came over, his seraph blade blazing. “Well, that was annoying.”

                “I’ve never heard of this demon before,” Alec said. “I’m fairly sure I’d remember something about this pain in the ass.”

                “Well, you know demons. New and even more inconvenient ones are always showing up,” Magnus said. He looked around the church, focusing his attention on its particularly dark corners, under the pews, on the roof.

                “So what’s the plan?” Alec asked. He turned then and aimed his drawn bow to a corner of the old church. He sighed when nothing moved. “How are we supposed to fight darkness?”

                “The power of love?” Jace said. He did a double take at something on the roof, before relaxing once more.

                “Anything actually useful?” Alec asked.

                “We just need to find its center,” Magnus said. “There’s always a way to send our pleasant guests back to hell.”

                “Any idea where _that_ would be?” Jace asked.

                Magnus tapped his chin with a finger. “If I were a Greater Demon where would I hide myself?” he shifted his weight and smiled as the floorboards creaked underneath his weight. Alec jumped onto one of the pews when he saw Magnus’ expression and beckoned Jace on top.

                “Your mind-reading thing is oddly specific sometimes,” Jace said.

                “You’re the same with Clary,” Alec said.

                Jace made a face and waited with Alec on the pew.

                Magnus crouched down. Sparks swirled around him and crackled off of the palm of his hand, then they turned into bursts of blue, booming a bit louder than their smaller counterparts. “Here we go,” Magnus whispered.

                He slammed his palms onto the wooden floor. The slap it created was nothing compared to the growling explosion that swept underneath the floorboards. Alec and Jace braced themselves on the pews as the ground shook underneath them. Blue flames licked between the cracks of the floorboards. Heat billowed upwards.

                It all disappeared in moments.

                Magnus dusted his hands off with a wide smile. “Well, that seems to be done now.”

                “Bit anticlimactic,” Jace said as he hopped to the floor. His foot went through the ground and he growled. “Come _on.”_

                Alec laughed, even as he helped him back to his feet.

                “Hurry up, I have some desert to eat with my kids,” Alec said. He let Magnus and Jace tiptoe ahead of him, his bow still drawn. He kept glancing behind him, the unsettling feeling of being watched raising the hairs on the back of his neck, tensing his shoulders.

                He strayed a bit from where Magnus and Jace had deemed safe to step on the fragile wood. His foot went straight through the floor. Jace seemed to laugh at him immediately.

                “Yeah, har har,” Alec said. He twisted so the wood he knew was the strongest could hold his weight as he tried to hoist himself up. When he barely budged he looked up with a growing flutter in his chest. “Uh, a little help?”       

                He felt the wood scrape against his thigh as he sunk a little deeper.

                “How deep is this floor, geez,” Alec said. He took Magnus’ hand and pulled with everything he had. He furrowed his eyebrows when nothing happened.

                “Is your foot caught?” Magnus asked. “Try breaking the wood around your leg.”

                Alec’s eyes widened. He shook his head and let go of Magnus’ hand. “Go, go!” He shoved at Magnus. “Both of you, get back!”

                Alec broke the wood around his leg. But he made no attempts at escape. He twisted, aimed and shot an arrow into the darkness underneath the floorboards. Then he pulled and pulled and pulled, yet nothing happened. He felt Magnus’ hands wedge themselves under his arms.

                “Go, Magnus, you don’t need to get caught either!” Alec said. “Call for backup.”

                “Jace is on it already,” Magnus said. He smiled as he pulled with all his might. “As if I could leave you anyway.”

                Alec sunk deeper. He growled and tried to kick his leg around. But it felt as if it was hanging in empty space. He couldn’t even feel the ground underneath. The wood that his other leg was resting on gave out next and he gasped as half of his body was pulled under. Splinters were digging into his waist now.

                Magnus shifted to holding him with one hand, as the other shot into the dark with blazing fireballs.

                “Jace, get a seraph blade!” Magnus said. He pulled on Alec again as Jace sent his message up in flames.

                Jace rushed forward, whispering the blade’s name as he did. He didn’t hesitate a moment to stab into the darkness. It seemed to strike something. A patch of light blazed for a moment. Then a scream sounded out, the high pitched one from before. Alec moved up barely even a centimeter. They all felt relief.

                Jace stabbed down again and again and again. Each time, Alec was released just a little more. Finally, with one final heave Magnus was able to pull him out of the hole. They both flew back onto the floor.

                “Come on!” Jace said.

                They jumped up. All three of them ran forwards, towards the door. Alec spared a glance backwards. Black mist oozed from underneath the floorboards. It created a hulking shape, devoid of a face or discernible limbs.

                Alec turned. He ran backwards as he knocked an arrow and sent it flying into the center of its form. The demon screamed and a spear of blackness shot out at Alec. He saw it in slow motion, as it went straight through him and lodged there like an anchor. He could feel nothing but cold around his middle.

                “Alexander!” Magnus screamed. It was distant, muffled.

                Alec’s breath hitched when he was pulled forward.

                He began knocking another arrow. He pulled the string back and sent it flying. Again, it hit the demon straight in its center. Another scream. Alec felt the cold in his chest then.

                He shivered as he sent another arrow right into the demon’s center. His vision was going black, closing in from his periphery. The last thing he heard before all went silent was Magnus yelling his name.

 

\---

 

                Alec was floating in the demon’s clutches, completely limp. There were black spears going through his body. Once through his stomach. Twice through his chest. Magnus cried out and scrambled forward.

                Jace, whose tight grip on him being the only thing holding him back, suddenly let him go. Magnus heard a thump behind him, but he didn’t dare tear his gaze away from his Alexander. He sent fireball after fireball flying towards the darkness. It crawled back underneath the floorboards. Magnus heard it chuckle as the last of its disgusting fog left his sight.

                Alec fell to the floor, as the last strands of the dark holding him up disappeared.

                Magnus cried out again. He crawled forward and hoisted Alec into his lap. He clutched his head to his chest.

                “Alexander,” he said. He shook him gently. But Alec’s head only rolled to the side. “Alexander, _please.”_

His chest was still moving with his shallow breaths and Magnus thanked every god he had ever heard of for it. He had no external wounds, no gaping holes were he had been stabbed, but his veins were black as the night outside. He was pale, paler than he had been when he caught the kids’ flu. Paler than Magnus had ever seen him. Alec’s breath hitched and Magnus closed his eyes and held him tighter.

                “You’re the strongest man I’ve ever known. Do you know that?” Magnus said. he could feel hot tears stream down his face. “You were the first in so many hundreds of years to touch me in the way you have. So don’t-” Magnus sucked in a breath and began again. “ _Open your eyes_.”

                Alec remained silent. Magnus’ chest tightened as he sobbed. His throat seemed to close.

                “I love you,” he managed. He rested his forehead against Alec’s. “I am so unbelievably, irrevocably, in love with you.”

                Jace screamed.

                “No, no, no,” Magnus said. Over and over again, it was the only thing he could think to say, as he watched Alec’s chest. It didn’t rise again.

                Magnus felt his magic flow through him to his palm. He placed it over Alec’s chest. But what was it that needed healing? His blood? His heart? Was this some form of demon venom flowing through his body? Magnus didn’t know. _He didn’t know._

                He shouted and placed Alec on the floor.

                He placed the heel of his palm down on Alec’s sternum and pushed.

                “Don’t you leave me,” Magnus said. He pushed again. “Don’t leave our children. Our family.”

                Magnus tilted Alec’s head back and blew all the air he had into him.

                “We can’t live without you,” Magnus screamed.

                Jace pulled him back. He held him to his chest.

                When the Shadowhunters finally arrived the first thing they heard was the wailing from half of a _parabatai_ pair and a widowed husband.

 

\---

 

_Still, I pictured having you for fifty, sixty more years. I thought I might be ready then to let you go. But it's you, and I realize now that I won't be anymore ready to lose you then than I am right now. Which is not at all._

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry.


End file.
